City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago

Author: Gary Krist

If you’re not interested in Chicago history, skip this book.

For those of you still with me, there’s a lot to learn from this story.

The author sheds light on a short period of time in 1919 when a lot of things happened. I knew about none of them before reading.

Here’s some highlights:

A hydrogen blimp exploded over downtown, crashing into one of the largest banks in the city and killing and injuring a many people.

A little girl is reported missing, leading to a city-wide search and the arrest of a very suspicious suspect. Also the rest of the city’s parents start paying close attention to adults who hang around children.

And probably most important – a week of race riots turn the city into a war zone. The mayor delays calling in the state militia for way too long. The governor avoids sending them in directly for political reasons. It’s bad.